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Cool Image: Multicolor STORM

Last year, scientists developed an optical microscopy technique enabling them to clearly see individual molecules within cells. Now, they've taken the technique, abbreviated STORM, a step further. They've identified multicolored probes that let them peer into cells and clearly see multiple cellular components at the same time, such as these microtubules (green) and small hollows called clathrin-coated pits (red). Unlike conventional methods, the multicolor STORM technique produces a crisp and high resolution picture. A sharper view of how cellular components interact will likely help scientists answer some longstanding questions about cell biology. Courtesy of chemist Xiaowei Zhuang of Harvard University.

No Vacation for Flu Virus

It's almost flu season, so keep washing your hands and get a flu shot. But no matter how well we prepare, the virus stays one step ahead. Researchers now think thatís because the flu virus doesn't vacation—it remains on duty throughout the year, traveling the globe and mixing with other strains. Penn State University biologist Edward Holmes analyzed the genomes of 900 influenza A virus samples from around the world and found similarities between viruses from the northern and southern hemispheres, suggesting regular viral traffic across the equator. Still unclear is where and when the virus evolves.

Scientists from NIHís National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Fogarty International Center also contributed to this work.

Plant Autoimmunity Linked to Fertility

When a German colleague showed Jeffery Dangl, a plant immunologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, photos of his failing hybrid Arabidopsis thaliana plants, Dangl thought they might be dying from a hyperactive immune response. Intrigued by this observation, the two teamed together to generate 881 unique hybrid plants and found that a common set of immune response genes were turned on in the 2 percent of plants that died. The findings suggest that an immune system incompatibility can arise in certain hybrids, triggering an autoimmune response. Dangl speculates that similar incompatibilities might contribute to infertility in humans.

Computational Modeling Could Improve Antibody Drugs

Scientists have developed computational models that could improve the effectiveness of drugs based on antibodies. By calculating which molecular changes would cause the antibodies to bind more tightly to their targets, the models already have helped create a new version of an anticancer drug. After computationally analyzing hundreds of potential antibody modifications, the researchers—Bruce Tidor, K. Dane Wittrup, and graduate student Shaun Lippow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—selected a small number to test experimentally. They found that some changes improved antibody binding by more than 100-fold! The approach could speed the development of new drugs and enhance antibodies used as diagnostics and as research tools.

NIGMS Grantees Garner 2007 Nobel Prize

Long-time NIGMS grantees Mario R. Capecchi of the University of Utah and Oliver Smithies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill share the 2007 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine with Briton Sir Martin J. Evans for creating a now-indispensable gene-targeting method. The method enables scientists to reveal the role of genes by creating mice containing genes from other organisms and by "knocking out" normal genes with altered or defectives ones. The prize-winning work shows how basic research can reshape the research landscape and stimulate progress in the treatment and cure of disease. To date, NIGMS has supported the research of 64 Nobel Prize winners.

Computing Life

While we use computer technology to e-mail friends and navigate city streets, scientists are using it to reveal new information about fundamental biological processes. With computing advances, they can search gene sequences for clues about diseases, simulate how infectious bugs might spread, and animate molecular activities in ways never before possible. You can learn more about how scientists are using computers to understand biology and medicine in NIGMSí latest free science education booklet, Computing Life. The Web version includes movies, podcasts, and other material available only online.

Biomedical Beat is produced by the Office of Communications and Public Liaison
of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Some of the research briefs in this digest were generated from university or national laboratory news releases. For more information about Biomedical Beat, please contact the editor, Emily Carlson, at carlsone@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-1515. To talk to someone at NIGMS about this research,
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